Apparatus for removing and collecting lint or the like



p 17, 1968 1.. R. MCE-ACHEZRN 3,401,419

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND COLLECTING LINT OR THE LIKE Filed March 3,1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l ATT PA/EYJ Sept. 17, 1968 L. R. MCEACHERN3,401,419

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND COLLECTING LINT OR THE LIKE Filed March 5,1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 17, 1968 R. MOEACHERN 3,401,419

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND COLLECTING LINT on THE LIKE Filed March 3,1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR P 17, 1968 R. MCEACHERN 3,401,419

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND COLLECTING LINT OR THE LIKE Filed March 5,1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. y /0 zero 2 m znovaw/ ,4 r reek/4: rs

United States Patent Oifice 3,431,419 Patented Sept. 17, 1968 3,401,419APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND COLLECTING LlNT R THE LlKE Loyd R. McEachern,Greenville, S.C., assignor to The American Monorail Co. Filed Mar. 3,1965, Ser. No. 436,900 13 Claims. (Cl. 15-312) This invention relatesgenerally to the art of cleaning, and more specifically to new andimproved apparatus for removing and collecting lint in textileoperations.

In the production of yarn, many short pieces of fiber are dislodged fromthe main body of fibers, such as from the sliver, roving or yarn, by thetextile machines which are employed in the process. These short fibers,commonly known as lint, are light and float around in the air until theycollect on parts of the textile machines, parts of the building,including beams, the roof, and other overhead structures, and, to aconsiderable extent, on the floor. Such lint accumulations may becomeentangled in the yarn to produce lumps, slubs, knots, and the like, inthe woven fabric. Therefore, it has long been recognized necessarycontinuously to remove and collect the lint which results during themanufacture of yarn.

One type of lint removal apparatus which has been used in the pastincluded a tri-rail track supported on the creels of a row of spinningmachines. A blower device and, in certain instances, a suction devicecoupled to the blower device in a tandem arrangement were mounted on thetrack for movement along the single row machines. The blower device waseffective to draw high pressure air streams onto the machines dispersethe lint into the air, and the lint which collected on the floor at thesides of the machines was removed by the suction device.

More recently, apparatus has been devised comprising a crane which issupported to travel over a plurality of rows of machines and providedwith equipment for simultaneously blowing lint from machines in each ofthe several rows traversed by the crane and for sucking up air and lintfrom near the floors of the aisles between adjacent rows. Thisapparatus, which is more particularly disclosed in my copendingapplication Ser. No. 380,217 filed July 6, 1964, also includes means forremoving lint from the air at a substantial height above the machines,collecting the lint, and periodically transferring it to a centraldisposal station.

The crane-type cleaning apparatus referred to above has been usedsuccessfully in commercial operations. Among other advantages, itaffords a solution to most phases of the lint problem by removing oreliminating the lint floating in the room air, as well as removing lintfrom the textile machines, collecting the lint from the aisle floors,and handling the collected lint. Because of the crane arrangement,several rows of machines can be cleaned in a single pass of theapparatus. The independent support of the crane rails above the textilemachines also has advantages in permitting installation andrearrangement of the machines without disturbing the overhead cleaningsystem, and eliminating vibrations encountered with creel-supportedequipment.

The present invention is particularly concerned with improvements incrane-type cleaning apparatus. In general, the invention provides a newconstruction which has many of the advantages discussed above and whichis further characterized by new and distinct advantages and resultswhich are not obtainable with prior art apparatus.

In its preferred embodiment, the apparatus of this invention comprisesan overhead crane runway and a crane which is mounted to travel alongthe runway over several rows of the machines. A carriage is supported onthe crane and is movablelengthwise of the crane bridges into indexedpositions relative to a plurality of the rows. The carriage is providedwith a blower system and a suction system including blower and suctiontubes which depend from the carriage on opposite sides of machines ineach of several selected rows. The blower system is operable to directhigh pressure, high velocity air streams onto the machines and thesuction system is operable to suck up air and lint from near the floorat the sides of those rows.

The preferred embodiment of this invention also contemplates theprovision of lint collection chambers which are mounted on the carriageas part of the suction system. The lint which is taken up from theaisles by th suction system is retained in these chambers duringoperation of the apparatus until such time as the collected lint can beconveniently removed. This provision of lint collection chambers makesit possible to eliminate the need for separate collection systems whichhave been used in the past in association with the cleaning apparatus.It will be apparent, however, from the ensuring description that asuitable lint collection system, such as that disclosed in copendingapplication Ser. No. 380,217, now Patent No. 3,299,463 issued Jan. 27,1967, can be used with the apparatus of this invention if desired.

In use, the indexing carriage is positioned on the crane so that pairsof the blower and suction tubes extend downwardly adjacent the machinesin selected rows traversed by the crane, as for example, adjacent themachines in every other row. The crane is then actuated from one end ofthe track to the other to clean those rows. When the crane reaches theend of its trackway, the carriage is indexed to a new position on thecrane and the direction of crane movement is reversed to clean thealternate rows of machines.

One of the major advantages of the invention is that the crane with theindexing carriage can be economically installed in existing mills totake the place of conventional creel-mounted cleaning equipment. Byindexing the carriage, the operation of the new apparatus can be made tosimulate the path of creel-mounted equipment, thereby reducing thenumber of blower and suction tubes in each aisle space, as compared toprior cranetype cleaning apparatus.

Another feature that makes it possible economically to substitute thenew apparatus for existing creel-mounted equipment is the provision ofthe lint collection chambers which are constructed so that automaticlint removal systems heretofore required can be eliminated. At the sametime, the apparatus of this invention offers the distinct advantagesover creel-mounted equipment of providing much greater blower andsuction air capacities and the ability simultaneously to clean aplurality of rows of machines with four or more vacuum tubes, ascompared to the use of two hoses and the cleaning of a single row.

Since the carriage can be indexed lengthwise of the crane so that thepairs of blower and suction tubes are moved along the sides of alternaterows of machines as the crane is moved back and forth on its runway, theapparatus of this invention has another advantage of eliminating thetime which has been lost in cycling adjacent prior crane-type cleanersalong the several bays of machines in a textile room. The indexingmovement of the carriage also results in less inconvenience to theworkers in aisle spaces, since the number of blower and suction tubes ineach aisle is reduced.

Other features and advantages and a fuller understanding of theinvention will be had [by reference to the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic end elevational view of one embodiment of theinvention installed in a spinning room;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, with portions broken away for clarity,of the apparatus of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 3;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view, partially in crosssection, of a portionof the apparatus;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of another portion ofthe apparatus; and

FIGURES 9 and 10 are schematic illustrations of modified embodiments ofthe invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a typicalportion or bay of a textile room containing a plurality of spinningmachines 26 or the like. The machines 29 are arranged in rows with aislespaces 21 being provided between adjacent rows. It will be understoodthat there may be a plurality of bays, such as that shown in FIG. 1, ina single room and that each bay may contain any number of rows.

In accordance with this invention, an overhead crane 22 extends acrossthe several rows of spinning machines in the bay. The crane 22 ismounted for travel along a runway formed by rails 23. These rails extendlengthwise of the rows and may be supported by hangers which depend fromoverhead beams (not shown). The overhead beams are part of the roomstructure and are typically supported by pillars or columns. Other Waysof supporting the rails 23 will be apparent to those familiar with theindustry. For example, the rails may be installed on brackets connectedto the columns and walls of the room. It is also possible to support therails on the creels of the spinning machines.

As in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the crane 22 is comprised of side beams orbridges 24 which are connected by suitable cross-bracing including endframe members 25 so as to form a strong rigid structure. Each end of thecrane 22 is provided with spaced wheel trucks 26 (FIG. 1) which aresuspended by trolleys 27. The trolleys 27 include Wheels running on thelower flanges of the rails 23. The crane 22 is provided with aconventional propelling unit (not shown) for moving it along the runway.As disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 2,812,251, issued Nov. 5,1957, to C. De V. Miller et 211., such a propelling unit may comprisetraction Wheels which are mounted near the ends of the frame to engagethe undersides of the runway rails 23 and are driven by a suitablereversible motor mounted on the crane.

Various other cranes can be substituted for the specifically disclosedstructure in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Itis to be understood, therefore, that the construction of the crane 22 isnot limiting of the invention and that the illustrated embodiment hasbeen chosen only for purposes of clean ly disclosing to those skilled inthe art one complete and operative system.

A carriage is supported on the crane 22. The carriage is longitudinallymovable on the crane transversely of the rows of spinning machines 20.As shown, the carriage 35 comprises parallel side beams 36 which aresuitably connected together and provided at their ends with trolleyyokes 37. The yokes 37 carry wheels 33 which run on the lower flanges ofthe crane bridges 24. A reversible drive motor 3? is supported on abracket 40 of the carriage and is connected by a chain 41 to a sprocketon a drive shaft 42. The drive shaft 42 extends transversely of thecarriage 35 and is supported by upstanding bearing members 43. Rackgears 44 are mounted on the ends of the drive shaft and mesh with racks45 which are secured to and extend along the tops of the crane bridges24. With this construction, actuation of the motor 39 serves to rotatethe shaft 42 and thereby propel the carriage 35 along the crane 22 to aselected position above the rows of spinning machines.

In accordance with this invention, the carriage 35 carries a blowersystem suitable for creating and discharging high pressure, highvelocity air streams onto the spinning machines 20 and a suction systemsuitable for sucking up air and lint from near the floors of the aisles21 and filtering the lint from the air. The illustrated blower systemcomprises a fan housing 55 having an air inlet side 56. A blower fan 57is mounted in the housing on a shaft 58 which is connected by belts 59to a drive motor 60. Blower ducts 61 extend from the fan housing 55toward opposite ends of the carriage. As shown most clearly in FIG. 1, aplurality of longitudinally spaced blower tubes 62 are connected to theducts 61 by blower drops 63. The tubes 62 depend from the carriage 35and, as shown, may be located on opposite sides of alternate rows of thespinning machines 20. Suitable blower tube constructions which can beused are more fuliy described in my U.S. Patent No. 3,946,521, issuedJuly 26, 1960, and in U.S. Patent No. 2,974,342, issued Mar. 14, 1961 toC. L. Fell.

With the described arrangement of the blower system, operation of thefan 57 serves to draw room air into the housing 55 through its inletside 56 and to create high pressure air streams which are directed intothe upstream ends of the blower ducts 61. These air streams areexhausted through outlets 65 of the blower tubes 62 against oppositesides of the spinning machines. Thus, as the crane 22 is propelled alongthe runway rails 23, lint will be blown from the machines onto thefloor. In the preferred construction, .a filter screen 64 is provided inthe fan housing 55 over its inlet side 56. This filter screen iseffective to clean the room air above the machines 20 by filtering thelint from the air which is drawn into the housing 55 and directed intothe ducts 61. The use of lint-free air streams to blow accumulationsfrom the spinning machines materially reduces the amount of lint whichis dispersed into the room.

In order to control the flow of high pressure air through the ducts 61into the tubes 62, each of the blower drops 63 is preferably providedwith a rotatable damper 66. These dampers are mounted in the blowerdrops on rotatable shafts having external operating handles 67 so thatthe dampers can be rotated to a desired position. Maximum air flowthrough the blower drops is obtained when the dampers 66 are positionedvertically and reduced air fiow results when the dampers are positionedas shown in FIG. 1. The air flow into the blower drops 63 can beselectively cut-off by rotating the dampers to positions wherein themouths of the blower drops are closed.

In some instances, it has been found desirable to provide means inaddition to the blower drop dampers 66 for automatically preventing airflow through either of the ducts 61, as when the carriage 35 is movedover a spinning frame that is not in use. To accomplish this, asolenoid-actuated shut-oil. valve is mounted in each of the ducts 61near the fan housing 55. As illustrated in FIG. 7, each of the valves 75comprises a tubular body 76 which is adapted to have its ends connectedto the adjoining ends of the blower duct. A shutter 77 is rotatablymounted in the valve body 76 on a shaft 78. The shutter 77 is rotatablefrom the closed position shown in broken lines in FIG. 7 to an openposition in which the shutter extends parallel to the axis of the valvebody in the direction of air flow.

An axially off-set weight 79 is fixed to the shaft 78 so that the weighttends to rotate the shaft counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 7, toplace the shutter in its closed position. The shutter is actuated to theopen position by a solenoid 80 which is mounted in a housing 81. Thearmature 82 of the solenoid is pivotally connected by a linkagestructure 83 to the weight 79. When the solenoid 80 is actuated, thearmature 82 is retracted against the action of the weight '79 to rotatethe shaft 78 clockwise and thereby place the shutter 77 in its openposition. When the solenoid is opened, the weight 79 causes the shaft torotate in the opposite direction to return the shutter to the closedposition.

A four-position 360 drum switch 86 is provided in association with eachof the shut-off valves 75. As shown, for example, in FIG. 1, a drumswitch 86 is mounted near each end of the carriage 35 so that theswitches will be above the rows of spinning machines being cleaned bythe blower tubes 62. Each of the switches 86 has a rotatable actuatingelement in the form of a star wheel 87 so that the switch can beactuated in alternate off-on conditions by rotating element 87 in eitherdirection. A trip arm 88 is mounted at both ends of the spinning framesin each row. In operation, the trip arms at both ends of the frame ofany spinning machine which is not in use are vertically disposed in theposition shown in FIG. 1 to contact the star wheels 87. Thus, when thecarriage 35 approaches that frame, the first arm 88 will rotate the starwheel of the switch one position to open the connected solenoid 80 ofthe valve 75 which controls the flow of air to the spinning frame. Thisresults in closing of the valve so as to prevent air flow from the tubes62 as the carriage passes over the spinning frame. When the carriagereaches the end of the frame, the second trip arm 88 will again rotatethe star wheel one position to close the connected solenoids, therebyrestoring the valve 75 to a fully opened position. The trip arms 88 canbe moved from the operative position shown in FIG. 1 so that the valves75 will be closed only when desired during movement of the carriage.

The suction system which is provided on the carriage 35 comprises a fanhousing 95 in which is disposed a suction fan 96. As shown, the suctionfan is mounted on the shaft 58 and is driven by the motor 60. The lowpressure or suction side of the fan 96 is communicated to a duct 97which is connected between two lint collection chambers 98. Lowpressure, lint-carrying air streams are drawn into the chambers 98through suction tubes 99, each of which depends from the carriage 35adjacent a blower tube 62. In the illustrated construction, the two endtubes are connected to the chambers 98 by duct extensions 100, while thetwo intermediate tubes are connected directly to the sides of thechambers in communication with their inner top portions. The suctiontubes 99 have air inlets .101 adjacent the floors of the aisles 21 sothat lint in the area of influences of the suction which is created willbe drawn into the tube inlets. Various low pressure air tubeconstructions suitable for use in sucking up the lint in the mannerdescribed are more fully set forth in my US. Patents No. 3,003,178,issued Oct. 10, 1961, and No. 3,086,891, issued Apr. 23, 1963.

The lint-carrying, low pressure air streams flow upwardly in the tubes99 into the collection chambers 98. As best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, alint collection area 110 is defined in each of the chambers 98 by filterscreens 111 and 112. The screen 111 is positioned in parallel spacedadjacency to the end wall of the chamber through which the duct 97communicates and the screen 112 is parallel to and spaced from a sidewall through which is connected a suction tube 99. The screens aresecured between channel members 113 at the bottom of the chamber andbaffie plates 114 which are connected to the top of the chamber. In theillustrated arrangement, the tube 99 communicates with the area 110through a hole .115 in the adjacent baflie plate, while the ductextension 100 communicates directly with the lint removal area throughan end wall of the chamber. Thus arranged, air and lint is drawn intothe chamber area 110 and the air then flows outwardly of this areathrough the screens 111 and 112 into the duct 97. The lint which isdrawn into each collection chamber is thereby deposited on the highpressure sides of the screens within the area 110. In order tofacilitate removal of the collected lint from the chambers 98, eachchamber is preferably constructed with a hinged bottom wall .120. Asshown, the bottom walls are hinged along one side and are held closed bywing nuts 121 or the like along the other side of the bottom wall. Thewing nuts 121 .are threaded on studs 122 which project through holes inthe edges of the doors 120. In use, the doors 120 can be swungdownwardly to provide access into the lint collection areas 110.

The air which is drawn through the duct 97 by the fan 96 is exhaustedthrough an outlet 123 of the fan housing 95. As best shown in FIG. 2,the outlet 123 is directed upwardly so that the air stream exhaustedfrom the vacuum system is projected onto the ceiling of the room. Inthis manner, the exhaust air stream is effective to remove and preventaccumulations of the lint on the ceilings of the spinning room and otheroverhead structure.

The operation of the described apparatus may be best explained withreference to FIG. 1. As there shown, the carriage 35 is indexed by themotor 39 so that the carriage is at one end of the crane 22. In thisposition, the blower tubes 62 and suction tubes 99 depend from thecarriage on opposite sides of the right hand row of machines and onopposite sides of the third row of machines. The crane 22 is thenactuated to move the tubes along these rows from one end of the bay tothe other. During such movement of the crane 22, the blower fan 57 andthe suction fan 96 are actuated to remove lint from the machines and tosuck up the air and lint from near the floors of the aisles. The lintremoved from the floors is deposited in the chambers 98 on the upstreamor high pressure sides of the screens 111 and 112 so that it can belater removed through the dump door 120. As explained above, the drumswitches 86 may be actuated over selected spinning frames by the triparms 88, thereby to prevent the flow of high pressure air streams tothose machines.

When the crane has reached the end of the bay, the carriage 35 may beactuated to place the suction tubes and blower tubes in the broken linepositions illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus indexed, the tubes are in positionto clean the alternate rows of machines. The crane is then reversed sothat it is propelled back to the original end of the bay and the cyclerepeated by indexing the carriage to a new position.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is schematically illustrated a modifiedarrangement in which the crane 22a is mounted to run between a columnand a wall 136 of the textile room. As shown, the rails 23 are supportedon brackets 137 that are connected to the column and wall. The cranebridges 24 are provided with wheel trucks 138 which carry wheels orrollers 139. These wheels or rollers run on the tops of the rails 23 toprovide a top running crane assembly. Another top running cranearrangement 22b is illustrated in FIG. 10. According to thismodification, the rails 23 are supported on the creels of the spinningmachines 20.

In both of the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10, the indexing carriage 35amay be mounted to run on the tops of the crane bridges 24 instead ofbeing suspended from the crane as in the embodiment of FIGS. l-6. Asshown, wheels are mounted on the ends of the side beams 36 of thecarriage for engagement with the upper surfaces of the crane bridges.Racks 146 are connected to the undersides of the bridges 24 and rackgears 147 are connected to the carriage 35a in meshing engagement withthe racks. The carriage 35a in each of the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10is adapted to be driven by a reversible drive motor (not shown) whichmay be connected to the rack gears 147 in the same manner as the motor39 of the embodi ment of FIGS. 1-6. It will be understood that carriage35a is provided with blower and suction systems (not shown) whichoperate as previously described.

Many modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in view of the foregoing detailed description.Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specificallyshown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for removing lint from spinning machines or the likearranged in rows with aisles between adjacent rows and collecting lintfrom near the floors of the aisles, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a runway extending lengthwise of said rows above said machines,

(b) crane means mounted for movement along said runway, said crane meansextending transversely of a plurality of rows,

() carriage means movable along said crane means,

(d) blower means supported on said carriage means including tubesextending to the machines in at least two rows of said plurality ofrows, said at least two rows being separated by at least one row ofmachines, and means to blow air through the tubes onto the machines,

(e) suction means supported on said carriage means including tubesextending to near the floor between a plurality of rows of machines andmeans for drawing up air and lint through the tubes, and,

(f) drive means connected to said carriage means for moving it alongsaid crane means to change the locations of said tubes.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said blower meansincludes an air inlet for room air, and screening means mounted oversaid inlet for removing lint from the air.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said suction meansincludes means for removing lint from the air drawn into said suctiontubes.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said means for removinglint comprises a collection chamber supported on said carriage, and lowpressure air screening means mounted in said chamber.

5. Apparatus for removing lint from spinning machines or the likearranged in rows with aisles between adjacent rows and collecting lintfrom near the floors of the aisles, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a runway extending lengthwise of said rows above said machines,

(b) crane means mounted for movement along said runway, said crane meansextending transversely of a plurality of rows,

(c) carriage means movable along said crane means,

(d) blower means supported on said carriage means including tubesextending downwardly on opposite sides of alternate rows of saidplurality of rows of machines, each of said tubes having an outlet fordirecting air toward an adjacent machine, a blower fan, and meansconnecting said tubes to said fan,

(e) suction means supported on said carriage means including tubesextending downwardly to near the floor of the aisles on opposite sidesof a plurality of rows of machines each of said tubes having an inletfor drawing in air and lint, a suction fan connected to said tubes, andmeans for filtering lint from the air drawn through said tubes, and,

(i) drive means for selectively moving said carriage means on said cranemeans to index the locations of said tubes relative to the rows ofmachines, said drive means including a first drive member connected toone of said carriage means and said crane means and extendinglongitudinally thereof, a second rotary drive member connected to theother of said carriage means and said crane means, with said seconddrive member interengaged with said first drive member, and motor meansfor rotating the second drive member.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said suction meanscomprises a lint collection chamber, screening means mounted in saidchamber upstream from said suction fan, and means forming an access tosaid chamber for permitting periodic removal of the collected lint.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said tubes are arrangedin pairs with the tubes in each pair being aligned laterally of saidcarriage means and consisting of a blower tube and a suction tube, andwherein said drive means is actuatable to index the pairs of tubesbetween different rows of machines.

8. Apparatus for removing lint from spinning machines or the likearranged in rows with aisles between adjacent rows and collecting lintfrom near the floors of the aisles, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a runway extending lengthwise of said rows above said machines,

(b) a crane mounted for movement along said runway, said crane extendingtransversely of a plurality of rows,

(c) a rack secured to said crane and extending lengthwise thereof,

(d) a carriage movable lengthwise of said crane,

(e) drive means connected to said carriage for moving it on said crane,said drive means including a gear meshed with said rack and motor meansdrivingly connected to said gear,

(f) a blower system on said carriage including:

(i) blower duct means extending lengthwise of said carriage,

(ii) an air inlet housing connected to said duct means, said housinghaving an inlet opening for room air,

(iii) a blower fan in said housing arranged to draw room air into saidinlet opening and direct a high pressure air stream into said ductmeans,

(iv) and blower tubes extending downwardly from said duct means onopposite sides of selected rows of machines traversed by said crane,each of said blower tubes having at least one outlet for directing anair stream toward an adjacent machine to blow the lint therefrom,

(g) a suction system on said carriage including:

(i) lint collection chambers,

(ii) suction tubes connected to said chambers and extending downwardlyfrom said carriage adjacent said blower tubes, each of said suctiontubes having an inlet for air and lint near the floors of the aisles,

(iii) a suction fan communicating with said chambers for causing lowpressure air streams carrying lint to flow into and up through saidsuction tubes and into said chambers,

(iv) and low pressure air screening means mounted in said chambers forremoving lint from the low pressure air streams, and,

(h) motor means on said carriage for operating said fans.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 including shutoff valves mountedin said blower duct means upstream from said blower tubes, said valvesbeing operable to block air flow to selected blower tubes.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said chambersincludes a door providing access to the lint collected therein.

11. Apparatus for removing lint from spinning machines or the likearranged in rows with aisles between adjacent rows and collecting lintfrom near the floors of the aisles, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a runway extending lengthwise of said rows above said machines, (b)a crane mounted for movement along said runway, said crane extendingtransversely of a plurality of rows,

(c) a carriage movable lengthwise of said crane,

((1) drive means connected to said carriage for moving it on said crane,

(e) a blower system on said carriage including:

(i) blower duct means extending lengthwise of said carriage,

(ii) an air inlet housing connected to said duct means, said housinghaving an inlet opening for room air,

(iii) a blower fan in said housing arranged to draw room air into saidinlet opening and direct a high pressure air stream into said ductmeans,

(iv) and blower tubes extending downwardly from said duct means onopposite sides of alternate rows of machines traversed by said crane,each of said blower tubes having at least one outlet for directing anair stream toward an adjacent machine to blow the lint therefrom,

(f) a suction system on said carriage including:

(i) lint collection chambers,

(ii) suction tubes connected to said chambers and extending downwardlyfrom said carriage adjacent said blower tubes, each of said suctiontubes having an inlet for air and lint near the floors of the aisles,

(iii) a suction fan communicating with said chain bers for causing lowpressure air streams carrying lint to flow into and up through saidsuction tubes and into said chambers,

(iv) and low pressure air screening means mounted in said chambers forremoving lint from the low pressure air streams, and,

(g) motor means on said carriage for operating said fans.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said drive meansinclude a first drive member connected to said crane, a Second rotarydrive member carried by said carriage and interengaged with said firstdrive member, and motor means for rotating said second drive member.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said drive meansinclude a first drive member connected to one of said carriage and saidcrane and extending longitudinally thereof, a second rotary drive memberconnected to the other of said carriage and said crane, with said seconddrive member interengaged with said first drive member, and motor meansfor rotating said second drive member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,304,571 2/1967 Black 153122,812,251 11/1957 Miller et al 15312 3,112,601 12/1963 McCullough 15312X ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR REMOVING LINT FROM SPINNING MACHINES OF THE LIKEARRANGED IN ROWS WITH AISLES BETWEEN ADJACENT ROWS AND COLLECTING LINTFROM NEAR THE FLOORS OF THE AISLES, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: (A) ARUNWAY EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID ROWS ABOVE SAID MACHINES, (B) CRANEMEANS MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID RUNWAY, SAID CRANE MEANS EXTENDINGTRANSVERSELY OF A PLURALITY OF ROWS, (C) CARRIAGE MEANS MOVABLE ALONGSAID CRANE MEANS, (D) BLOWER MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAID CARRIAGE MEANSINCLUDING TUBES EXTENDING TO THE MACHINES IN AT LEAST TWO ROWS OF SAIDPLURALITY OF ROWS, SAID AT LEAST TWO ROWS BEING SEPARATED BY AT LEASTONE ROW OF MACHINES, AND MEANS TO BELOW AIR THROUGH THE TUBES ONTO THEMACHINES, (E) SUCTION MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAID CARRIAGE MEANS INCLUDINGTUBES EXTENDING TO NEAR THE FLOOR BETWEEN A PLURALITY OF ROWS OFMACHINES AND MEANS FOR DRAWING UP AIR AND LINT THROUGH THE TUBES, AND,(F) DRIVE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CARRIAGE MEANS FOR MOVING IT ALONGSAID CRANE MEANS TO CHANGE THE LOCATIONS OF SAID TUBES.